Introducing… 7mesh

What do you get when a group of bike-loving outdoor clothing industry aficionados pool their combined knowledge and experience of designing top-end outdoor apparel to create a performance-orientated cycle clothing range? The answer of course is 7mesh, one of the newer brands offering best-in-class waterproof (but not only) cycle clothing, inspired by the creme de la creme of the outdoor apparel world.

So what makes 7mesh so special?

First things first, we’re gonna get this one out the way quickly (quicker than you can pump a 700 x 23 tyre up with a car tyre air compressor): on the face of it, 7mesh clothing seems a touch pricey. The kit is many things, but cheap it ain’t. But, as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for, and with 7mesh this old mantra certainly rings true. And it seems that many who have tried 7mesh’s products out agree. BikeEnvy gave the Revelation jacket a value for money rating of 9/10 despite the jacket being more expensive than its peers and the reviewer at The Cyclist concluded that “overall, I really couldn’t recommend this jacket enough. Yes, it's expensive but it's worth every penny”.

One thing which is key to the quality of 7mesh's clothing is their use of top-end GORE-TEX® fabric across their product line. Gore are well-known for their high performance technical outdoor fabrics and, with a strong reputation to uphold, don’t typically work with start-ups. The fact that Gore approved 7mesh to use their materials is testament to the quality of 7mesh’s products.

7mesh use market-leading Gore fabric across their product range

7mesh use super-durable GORE-TEX® Pro for their top-end men's and women's Revelation jacket (the first cycle jacket to use this particularly tough material), super-breathable GORE-TEX® Active for their men's and women's Re:Gen jacket, windproof and breathable WINDSTOPPER® Soft Shell for the men's Recon and women's Strategy jackets and WINDSTOPPER® Active Shell for the men's and women's Resistance jacket and the Resistance vest. They also use super-fine seam taping to help minimise the weight and optimise the water resistance and flexibility of their jackets, as well as several other design features which go beyond the norm.

The women's Resistance weighs in at just 110g and features 8mm seam tapes and WINDSTOPPER® Active Shell fabric

7mesh’s product line has been highly praised for various aspects including their toughness, cut, breathability and waterproofing, as well as their wearable style and the innovative features which have been incorporated into the designs. We’ve picked a select few of the widespread great reviews of the brand’s products to date, to showcase just how impressed the cycling world (on both sides of the Atlantic) has been with this exciting brand.

The top-of-the-range Revelation jacket has probably received the greatest amount of media attention, with consistently excellent reviews. Road.cc described the jacket as an “exceptionally good cycle-specific waterproof with superb breathability” and gave it 9/10 for quality of construction, performance and durability, and 8/10 for weight and comfort. BikeEnvy noted that “This jacket looks amazing and the performance is truly exceptional – the waterproofness and breathability are on a whole new level and there are some neat features as well”. It gave the jacket 10/10 for performance, noting that “we thought about awarding 11!”

“This jacket looks amazing and the performance is truly exceptional – the waterproofness and breathability are on a whole new level.”

Reviews of the women’s version of the Revelation have been equally enthusiastic, with Blister gear (a Canadian organisation dedicated to providing honest reviews of outdoor sports equipment) offering very high praise for many of the jacket’s features, including the ventilation (“7mesh nailed the venting and airflow of the Revelation”), hood design (“the under-the-helmet hood design is also a great feature”) and versatility (“This jacket works well as a lightweight raincoat, and I see myself using it all the time for activities other than biking”). The reviewer concluded that “the do-it-all features and Gore Pro material of the Revelation make it an easy choice as an everyday riding jacket for me.”

The Revelation - a versatile option for on and off bike use: “This jacket works well as a lightweight raincoat, and I see myself using it all the time for activities other than biking.”

The same reviewer also looked at the Re:Gen jacket (the lighter-weight, less burly younger sibling to the Revelation), and, although she was less impressed with the Re:Gen than the Revelation, noted the comfortable feel of the jacket against the skin and concluded that it works well for its intended use. The men’s version of the Re:Gen jacket has been marked out by a reviewer at The Cyclist magazine as “the best waterproof cycling jacket I’ve ever used”.

The Re:Gen: “The best waterproof cycling jacket I’ve ever used.”

Blister gear have reviewed many other 7mesh products, including the softshell Strategy jacket which was praised for being a “very versatile piece of bike wear” which “does a very good job of comfortably adapting to the elements while also providing gear storage”. Bicycling reviewed the women’s version of the Strategy and concluded “This softshell may be the best winter jacket I’ve tried in the past year” noting the “The Windstopper fabric does exactly what it advertises, yet also breathes well to keep sweating to a minimum.”

The Strategy - an excellent winter jacket option: “The Windstopper fabric does exactly what it advertises, yet also breathes well to keep sweating to a minimum.”

The GearCaster (an American review site for outdoor adventure gear) gave the women’s Resistance jacket a glowing review, noting that “the jacket completely blocks out the cold wind but remains incredibly breathable so that you don’t turn into a clammy sweatbox” (what a brilliant turn of phrase!). The reviewer noted that she could see herself “wearing the Resistance Jacket every day of the Breck Epic [a six day mountain bike race in Colorado, USA] this summer” and concluded that “I can’t say enough good things about the quality construction and clean lines of all the 7Mesh pieces”. Wired Magazine also praised the guy’s version of the Resistance jacket, stating that “This Resistance jacket from 7Mesh should never leave your commuter bag. Ever.” The reviewer particularly liked the low weight and small pack size, the jacket’s moisture management and its “perfect bike cut” which means “it never rides up your back when you're hunched over the bars”.

Finally, the Blister review of the MTB-style Glidepath short concluded that “7mesh’s Glidepath short performs very well on the bike, and dries faster and stores a phone better than any other short I’ve worn”.

The Glidepath short is fast-drying with good gear-stashing qualities

7mesh make products suitable for MTB, road and commuter use which offer an exceptional level of performance. If the testimonies to quality outlined above haven’t whetted your appetite for any of these tasty pieces from the latest brand that is hotter than habanero tabasco sauce (i.e. some seriously hot stuff!) we’re not sure what will. Nuff said.

Domestique-in-training, Anne’s unique selling points are her super-strong thumbs (a hangover from her days as a beefy bike mechanic) and her enthusiasm for cake (both baking and eating). When she isn’t sorting out returns or writing for the website she can be found working to make the transport system better for cycling (in her non-Always Riding role as a transport planner), fixing up friends’ bikes or enjoying the ride.

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